A well-written, fast-paced read. The story unfolds through the eyes of participants, from the planners strategizing behind the scenes to the soldiers on the ground experiencing the action firsthand. An excellent way to tell the story of the Second World War. Really looking forward to the third installment in Jeff Shaara's series, *The Steel Wave*. For fans of historical fiction and World War II book reviews, this is a must-read!

Shaara's epilogues always hit you right in the gut, and this novel, The Steel Wave, is no different. He reminds us that not everyone dies on the battlefield; some die years later from the war's lingering scars. It's a powerful reminder, and something that makes his war novels stand out. If you're looking for a gripping historical fiction read, Jeff Shaara's The Steel Wave is a must.

Shaara absolutely nails it again with "The Steel Wave," seamlessly blending meticulously researched history and key figures (Eisenhower, Rommel, Montgomery, Bradley, Patton, Gavin) with compelling fictional characters. This allows the reader to truly experience the D-Day invasion in all its terrifying chaos, utter confusion, and eventual triumph. If you’re not already deeply familiar with WWII, this is *the* book to plunge you right into the heart of it (along with Rick Atkinson's 'The Guns at L...

A 20-hour unabridged audiobook. Almost worthy of 3 stars, but alas, it's only getting two. Just too much glossed over for my taste, like the complete absence of big events in Italy (Rome fell on the eve of D-Day!), the Eastern Front being largely ignored, and a rehash of strategy already detailed quite well in other books (and let's face it, there's a *ton* of D-Day related books out there). I just didn't feel like *The Steel Wave* was a valuable addition unless you're a die-hard Jeff Shaara fan...

Here we delve into the events leading up to and encompassing Normandy, Operation Overlord, and D-Day. The narrative explores the war's progression in Southern Europe and Africa, the contentious relationship between Patton and Montgomery... and the pervasive horror and death.Jeff Shaara once again masterfully tells the story through the imagined perspectives of those who lived it, presenting the unfolding events in a captivating way. If you're looking for compelling World War II historical fictio...

"But his mind brought him back to the march, one foot in front of the other, rocks in the soft mud, the soft echo of footsteps of so many who were no longer there." (3.5 stars) "The Steel Wave" is the second book in Jeff Shaara’s trilogy about the war in Europe during WW II. As usual, Shaara shines when depicting the experiences of regular troops in battle. In this installment, he revisits a fictional character from the previous book, "The Rising Tide": paratrooper Jesse Adams. We experience muc...

Jeff Shaara's *The Steel Wave*, the second book in his World War II series, meticulously builds up to D-Day and explores the brutal aftermath of the battle in France. Shaara masterfully presents the war through the eyes of key figures: Eisenhower, Bradley, Patton, Rommel, and even paratroopers like Jesse Adams. These aren't fictionalized heroes; Shaara expertly weaves their real thoughts and actions together, creating a gripping and authentic narrative. If you're looking for engrossing historica...

In fiction, the middle book in a trilogy often suffers. It's a transition from point A to point B. The first book introduces the crisis. In the second book, the main characters suffer a setback. In the final book, the crisis comes to a head and the good guys emerge victorious. This doesn't really apply to Jeff Shaara's brand of historical fiction. *The Steel Wave*, I think, will be the best of the three books. It's the tipping point. The Germans have been rocked back in Africa and Italy and are ...

I'm a Shaara fan because of how he makes war feel personal. You really feel like you *know*, admire, and respect the key figures in his books, and you understand why they make the choices they do. "The Steel Wave" just didn't have any of that. Every character sounded the same to me – no real personality. I also felt bogged down by so many tedious details, which made it hard to grasp the bigger picture of what happened on D-Day. Ultimately, "The Steel Wave" ended up being a real slog for me to ge...

Jeff Shaara's father is renowned for authoring the historical novel "Gettysburg." Since then, the son has penned a prequel and a sequel to his father's magnum opus, along with similar historical novels about the Revolutionary War, the Mexican American War, the First World War, and the Second World War. This is the second installment of a World War II trilogy, the first of which centered on the American campaign in the Sahara. Here, the spotlight is on D-Day. Much has been written about D-Day—bo...